The skinny: E. Gene Smith, a Mormon and pacifist from Ogden, Utah, crossed paths with Dezhung Rinpoche, one of the foremost Tibetan lamas seeking refuge in the United States, during the 1960s while Smith studied at the University of Washington. From that friendship sprung a 50-year quest to rescue and recover endangered and lost Tibetan literature, ranging in subjects from the medicinal to the metaphysical. Suspected a spy and distrusted by many, Smith's peaceful yet unwavering commitment takes him all over the world and eventually results in the transcription of 20,000 ancient texts -- some from wooden blocks -- to digital copies, 12,000 of which have already been presented on hard drives to remote monasteries in Tibet and India. Director Dafna Yachin will be in attendance.

The skinny: Pushed to action by the illegal auctioning of western land to oil companies by the Bureau of Land Management during the end of the Bush administration, college senior Tim DeChristopher attended the action and bogarted the sale by pledging $1.8 million. While his actions might very well have saved 22,000 acres of untouched land in Utah and the leases were eliminated by President Obama, DeChristopher was still indicted on federal charges for his show of civil disobedience. Directors Beth and George Gage (who will be present at the screening) cover DeChristopher's plight and those who joined his mission, young adults furious over what they perceive as the hijacking of our government by corporate America in their award-winning film.

Screening: 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, at First United Methodist Church as part of the Call 2 Action Program.

"FLICKER" ("FLIMMER")

Sweden/Comedy/100 minutes

The skinny: Nominated for a 2009 Oscar for short film director, Patrik Eklund ("Instead of Abracadabra") has garnered plenty of positive buzz for his debut feature, the story of a wayward CEO of Unioncom (Allan Svensson), a telecommunications company situated in the tiny (fictional) Swedish town of Backberga, and his spectacularly bad plans to modernize the family business. As one misguided idea after another backfires, the employees and inhabitants of the town find themselves in increasingly absurd situations. The film has had several well-received festival screenings and garnered many comparisons to Joel and Ethan Coen. Eklund will be in attendance.

Screening: 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, at the Boulder Theater.

"THE LAST ELVIS"

Argentina/Drama/91 minutes

The skinny: Carlos Gutierrez (John McInerny) is a factory worker by day and a beloved Elvis impersonator by night. (Scratch that; the man truly believes he's Elvis.) After a car accident leaves his estranged ex-wife and daughter injured, Carlos must find a way to pull himself back into reality enough to reconnect and care for little Lisa Marie (Margarita Lopez) without giving up his dream. Directed by Amanda Bo, who was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

The skinny: This documentary, directed by TC Johnsone (who will attend the screening), covers the dramatic partnership between cycling legend Jack Boyer, who relocated to Rwanda to tutor a team, and his star pupil, Adrien Niyonshuti, who lost six brothers during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Together, the two lead their cyclists to the 2012 Summer Olympics, inspiring hope, forgiveness, and reconciliation in the people around them while dreaming of a shot at the Tour de France. Produced and narrated by Forest Whitaker.

Screening: 12:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, at Boulder High School.

"BLANCANIEVES" ("SNOW WHITE")

Spain/Drama/104 minutes

The skinny: Spain's official entry for the Academy Awards re-imagines the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow White" in 1920s Seville with the main character (Macarena Garcia) rising above the trappings of a wicked stepmother (Maribel Verdu of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Pan's Labyrinth") to become a celebrated bullfighter in the tradition of her beloved, deceased father. The black-and-white silent film, written and directed by one-time cinematographer Pablo Berger, was scored with flamenco music and enjoys its Colorado premiere at BIFF.

The skinny: In a documentary asking new questions about the roots of punk, three brothers, Bobby, David and Dannis Hackney, sons of a black minister in early 1970s Detroit, are heralded as precursors of the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and The Clash. Directors Jeff Howlett and Mark Covin explore the formation, history and impact of their band -- called Death -- and how culture, race and creative license played major roles in keeping one of the first punk bands marginalized until an old demo made it onto the Internet.

The skinny: French animator Jean-Francois Laguionie's film revolves around characters in varying degrees of completion: the Allduns, rulers of an animated world steeped in Venetian art and Italian opEra; the Halfies, who are missing brushstrokes, and the Sketchies, comprised of haphazard pencil lines, looked down upon and forced into servitude to the Allduns. Led by Lola, a group of Sketchies and Halfies escape their own painting and pop in and out of others in search of the one man who can finish them: the painter.

The skinny: One of six films featured in BIFF's second short film program, "How to Mow Your Lawn on PCP" is listed as the first installment of a faux series titled, "Do Anything Stoned, with Marty Adams." Watch Marty as he walks you through the steps of setting up the lawn mower, getting high, fetching gas and eluding law enforcement because "sometimes the cops don't want you to have a well-kept lawn."

The skinny: Award-winning choreographer Allison Orr built her reputation on challenging people's ideas of who and what belong on stage. Having worked with such disparate performers as Elvis impersonators, firefighters and Venetian gondoliers, Orr decides to turn her gaze upon sanitation workers and their garbage trucks in this documentary by Andrew Garrison. As the audience learns about the lives of her "dancers," many of whom have second jobs and busy family lives, the dancers themselves slowly become convinced that what they do can be perceived as beautiful, culminating in a performance on an abandoned airstrip to thousands of viewers.

Screening: 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, at the Boulder Theatre as part of the Call 2 Action Program.

Sanitation workers and their garbage trucks perform on an abandoned airstrip in Trash Dance. (Courtesy photo)

Boulder is pretty good at producing rock bands, and by "rock," we mean the in-your-face, guitar-heavy, leather-clad variety — you know, the good kind. For a prime example, look no farther than BANDITS. Full Story